Editing Samurai (section)

===Sengoku period===
The outbreak of the [[Onin War]], which began in 1467 and lasted about 10 years, devastated [[Kyoto]] and brought down the power of the Ashikaga shogunate. This plunged the country into the [[Sengoku Period|warring states period]], in which ''[[daimyo]]'' (feudal lords) from different regions fought each other. This period corresponds to the late Muromachi period. There are about nine theories about the end of the Sengoku Period, the earliest being the year 1568, when [[Oda Nobunaga]] marched on Kyoto, and the latest being the suppression of the [[Shimabara Rebellion]] in 1638. Thus, the Sengoku Period overlaps with the Muromachi, [[Azuchi–Momoyama period|Azuchi–Momoyama]], and [[Edo period]]s, depending on the theory. In any case, the Sengoku period was a time of large-scale civil wars throughout Japan.<ref name="jp191129">{{cite web|url=https://mag.japaaan.com/archives/132811/3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131030808/https://mag.japaaan.com/archives/132811/3|script-title=ja:最長で200年説も！戦国時代とはいつからいつまでを指すのか？諸説をまとめました|language=ja|author=Akio Tsunoda|publisher=[[Shōgakukan]]|date=19 November 2020|archive-date=31 January 2023|access-date=31 January 2023}}</ref><ref name="jk061222">{{cite web|url=https://japanknowledge.com/introduction/keyword.html?i=1930|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206163952/https://japanknowledge.com/introduction/keyword.html?i=1930|script-title=ja:戦国時代|language=ja|publisher=Japan Knowledge|date=|archive-date=6 December 2022|access-date=29 January 2023}}</ref>

[[File:Tepu5.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|{{transliteration|ja|[[Tanegashima (gun)|Tanegashima]]}} ([[Matchlock]])]]
[[File:Strings for night firing.jpg|thumb|upright|Large numbers of {{transliteration|ja|[[ashigaru]]}} (foot soldiers) in close formation began to use {{transliteration|ja|[[yari]]}} (spears) and {{transliteration|ja|[[tanegashima (gun)|tanegashima]]}} (gun), changing battlefield tactics and the equipment of the samurai class.]] 
''Daimyo'' who became more powerful as the shogunate's control weakened were called {{nihongo3||戦国大名|sengoku daimyo}}, and they often came from ''shugo daimyo'', {{nihongo3|deputy Shugo|守護代|[[Shugodai]]}}, and {{nihongo3|local masters|国人|kokujin or kunibito}}. In other words, ''sengoku daimyo'' differed from ''shugo daimyo'' in that a ''sengoku daimyo'' was able to rule the region on his own, without being appointed by the shogun.<ref name="shugosen"/>

During this period, the traditional master-servant relationship between the lord and his vassals broke down, with the vassals eliminating the lord, internal clan and vassal conflicts over leadership of the lord's family, and frequent rebellion and puppetry by branch families against the lord's family.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gendai.media/articles/-/83871?page=3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240307071317/https://gendai.media/articles/-/83871?page=3|script-title=ja:意外と知らない「下剋上」とは一体何か？戦国時代の「主殺し」の実像 3/4|language=ja|publisher=[[Kodansha]]|date=18 June 2021|archive-date=7 March 2024|access-date=7 March 2024}}</ref> These events sometimes led to the rise of samurai to the rank of ''sengoku daimyo''. For example, [[Hōjō Sōun]] was the first samurai to rise to the rank of ''sengoku daimyo'' during this period. [[Uesugi Kenshin]] was an example of a ''Shugodai'' who became ''sengoku daimyo'' by weakening and eliminating the power of the lord.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gendai.media/articles/-/83871?page=4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240307071419/https://gendai.media/articles/-/83871?page=4|script-title=ja:意外と知らない「下剋上」とは一体何か？戦国時代の「主殺し」の実像 4/4|language=ja|publisher=Kodansha|date=18 June 2021|archive-date=7 March 2024|access-date=7 March 2024}}</ref><ref name="shugosen2">{{cite web|url=https://www.touken-world.jp/history/history-important-word/shugodaimyo-sengokudaimyo/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317190415/https://www.touken-world.jp/history/history-important-word/shugodaimyo-sengokudaimyo/|script-title=ja:守護大名と戦国武将の違い|language=ja|publisher=The Japanese Sword Museum Nagoya Touken World|date=|archive-date=17 March 2024|access-date=17 March 2024}}</ref>

This period was marked by the loosening of samurai culture, with people born into other social strata sometimes making a name for themselves as warriors and thus becoming ''[[de facto]]'' samurai. One such example is [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], a well-known figure who rose from a peasant background to become a samurai, ''sengoku daimyo'', and ''[[Sessho and Kampaku|kampaku]]'' (Imperial Regent).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dot.asahi.com/articles/-/202017?page=3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229075803/https://dot.asahi.com/articles/-/202017?page=3|script-title=ja:豊臣秀吉はなぜ「征夷大将軍」ではなく「関白」になったのか——秀吉をめぐる「三つのなぜ」|language=ja|publisher=[[The Asahi Shimbun]]|date=24 September 2023|archive-date=29 February 2024|access-date=29 February 2024}}</ref>

From this time on, infantrymen called {{transliteration|ja|[[ashigaru]]}}, who were mobilized from the peasantry, were mobilized in even greater numbers than before, and the importance of the infantry, which had begun in the Nanboku-chō period, increased even more.<ref name="rekishi200940">''歴史人'' September 2020. pp.40–41. {{ASIN|B08DGRWN98}}</ref> When [[matchlock]]s were introduced from Portugal in 1543, Japanese swordsmiths immediately began to improve and mass-produce them. The Japanese matchlock was named {{transliteration|ja|[[tanegashima (gun)|tanegashima]]}} after the [[Tanegashima|Tanegashima island]], which is believed to be the place where it was first introduced to Japan. By the end of the Sengoku Period, there were hundreds of thousands of arquebuses in Japan and a large army of nearly 100,000 men clashing with each other.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://archive.org/details/givingupgun00noel |url-access= registration |title= Giving up the gun: Japan's reversion to the sword, 1543-1879 |pages=17–28|author= Noel Perrin |publisher= David R Godine |year=1979 |access-date=2011-09-22|isbn= 978-0-87923-773-8 }}</ref>

On the battlefield, {{transliteration|ja|ashigaru}} began to fight in close formation, using {{transliteration|ja|[[yari]]}} (spear) and {{transliteration|ja|tanegashima}}. As a result, {{transliteration|ja|yari}}, {{transliteration|ja|[[yumi]]}} (bow), and {{transliteration|ja|tanegashima}} became the primary weapons on the battlefield. The {{transliteration|ja|naginata}}, which was difficult to maneuver in close formation, and the long, heavy {{transliteration|ja|[[tachi]]}} fell into disuse and were replaced by the {{transliteration|ja|[[nagamaki]]}}, which could be held short, and the short, light {{transliteration|ja|[[katana]]}}, which appeared in the Nanboku-cho period and gradually became more common. The {{transliteration|ja|tachi}} was often cut off from the hilt and shortened to make a {{transliteration|ja|katana}}. The {{transliteration|ja|tachi}}, which had become inconvenient for use on the battlefield, was transformed into a symbol of authority carried by high-ranking samurai.<ref name = "toukennagi">[https://web.archive.org/web/20201124014052/https://www.touken-world.jp/tips/25694/ Basic knowledge of naginata and nagamaki.] Nagoya Japanese Sword Museum, Touken World</ref><ref name = "toukenssw">[https://web.archive.org/web/20201226054428/https://www.touken-world.jp/tips/45927/ Arms for battle – spears, swords, bows.] Nagoya Japanese Sword Museum, Touken World</ref><ref name ="en20p42">Kazuhiko Inada (2020), ''Encyclopedia of the Japanese Swords''. p42. {{ISBN|978-4-651-20040-8}}</ref><ref name="rekishi200940"/> Although the {{transliteration|ja|ōdachi}} had become even more obsolete, some ''sengoku daimyo'' dared to organize assault and kinsmen units composed entirely of large men equipped with {{transliteration|ja|ōdachi}} to demonstrate the bravery of their armies.<ref name ="en20p39">Kazuhiko Inada (2020), ''Encyclopedia of the Japanese Swords''. p39. {{ISBN|978-4-651-20040-8}}</ref>

These changes in the aspect of the battlefield during the Sengoku period led to the emergence of the {{transliteration|ja|[[Japanese armour|tosei-gusoku]]}} style of armor, which improved the productivity and durability of armor. In the history of Japanese armor, this was the most significant change since the introduction of the {{transliteration|ja|ō-yoroi}} and {{transliteration|ja|dō-mal}} in the Heian period. In this style, the number of parts was reduced, and instead armor with eccentric designs became popular.<ref name = "gusoku">[https://web.archive.org/web/20190425051228/http://costume.iz2.or.jp:80/column/554.html 日本の甲冑] Costume Museum</ref>

By the end of the Sengoku period, allegiances between warrior vassals, also known as military retainers, and lords were solidified.<ref name="William E. Deal 2006 136">{{cite book|title=Handbook to Life in Medieval & early Modern Japan|author=William E. Deal |year=2006 |isbn=0-8160-5622-6 |page=136|publisher=Facts On File, Incorporated }}</ref> Vassals would serve lords in exchange for material and intangible advantages, in keeping with [[Confucian]] ideas imported from China between the seventh and ninth centuries.<ref name="William E. Deal 2006 136" />
These independent vassals who held land were subordinate to their superiors, who may be local lords or, in the Edo period, the shogun.<ref name="William E. Deal 2006 136" />
A vassal or samurai could expect monetary benefits, including land or money, from lords in exchange for their military services.<ref name="William E. Deal 2006 136" />